Christina De Rosa holds a potentially deadly secret that threatens to get out. As an innocent young teenager, Christina survives a terrifying sexual assault that destroys her self-worth and trust. In her daily struggle, Christina searches for ways to keep her torment at bay, so she can function as a “normal” teenager. Meanwhile, Christina’s spiritual journey leads her down a path causing conflict … causing conflict within, as she’s riddled with guilt and shame.
A chance encounter with her longtime, hot crush, Avery Evans, sparks a fire in Christina that she can’t extinguish. As the sweet, loving, knight in shining armor he readily portrays, Avery offers the safety and security that Christina craves.
In her quest for internal peace, Christina must make a decision. Will she give her heart, body and soul to the super popular, Avery Evans?
Will Christina’s nightmares become all-consuming or will her discoveries lead her to a renewed way of life?
Find out if true love triumphs in this edgy, faith-based young adult page-tuner, set in the 1980s.
*Not Again is NOT your typical Christian coming of age story. Fierce faith doesn’t come without a fight. Prepare for heartache, self-harm, traumatic events, real romance, and actual scripture in these pages.
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I really enjoyed reading this. I found this book to be inspirational. I love how Christina went on a journey to find her spiritual guidance to become a Christian and let God into her life.
Most of this book focused on the reality teenagers frequently face in their dating relationships. This book can help them to understand the types of situations that can tempt them to break their commitments to wait until marriage before having sex.
I did not like the rape scene, or the few instances of mild swearing, but this scene and her recovery is a real part of helping women who have experienced this.
I found myself transported back to high school as I read Not Again. It was not an easy or happy time for me but reading this story gave me a chance to release some of these unpleasant remembrances and heal a little. I was impressed with how well the author portrayed the moods and attitudes I remember. I look forward to reading her next book, Not Again, The Fallout!
I received a free copy of this book. All opinions are completely my own. This first appeared as a review and giveaway on Book of Ruth Ann.
Life is a bundle of experiences that can bring one up or bring one low. A young teenaged girl finds this out in dramatic ways in Maria Henriksen’s Christian faith based novel “Not Again”
One horrible day changes a young woman forever. She is pulled down a terrifying path that physically and mentally changes who she is. Her days and nights are plagued with fear and self worth questioning. Yet she comes to realize God has love in many ways in store for her. People come into her life she didn’t figure on and bring her hope and love.
This novel brought tears and joy to my eyes. Henriksen has a way with words that bring the story into focus for readers to enjoy and be uplifted by. When looking for a new and rewarding read, put this book on top of your list!
Not Again is a read that can transport you back to your own teenage years. Christina is a typical teenager no different than any other teenagers her age. She is literally begged to enter a beauty contest she never wanted anything to do with. When the circumstances surrounding the pageant cause the director to have a nervous breakdown, Christina pays the ultimate price of being raped by the director’s son. Christina keeps this secret to herself through her entire high school years. As she dates the best looking boy in school and goes to parties where drugs, alcohol and sex are prevalent, she doesn’t break under the social pressures. Though there are some details in the book that I am not sure a teenager should be doing, I think it is very real. The author did a great job portraying the circumstances many teenagers face daily. Many teenagers feel the pressure of being part of the in crowd or being alone. The author does a great job of weaving scriptures into the book and getting the message across about faith and following the Lord. This young adult, christian fiction book is a good read for parents and teenagers alike. This could be used as a tool to open the dialect between a parent and child about the pressures they will face. I received a copy of this book from the author with no promise of a review.
5 Stars: 5/5 Star Rating
Teens and adults will find Not Again very engaging. This is not your average Christian Young Adult novel. It addresses self-harm and sexual assault and faith while including romance. Scripture is used to guide Christina in your quest for healing. The healing she doesn’t even know she needs….the forgiveness she isn’t prepared to offer. Can she forgive? Will she find faith in midst of young love? Set in the 1980’s, this book will take readers on a journey to another world, as they view an earlier time in our history, a time known to their parents or aunts and uncles, maybe even their grandparents.
I highly recommend this novel to young readers and adults will enjoy it as well.
This is a very eye-opening story told from the viewpoint of a very young teen through graduation. Her name is Christina. Parents should read to understand that they need to be a safe haven for teens to go to for advice. They need to be encouraging and open to talk to their children, and let them know they can come to them no matter what happens. When teens do not have that support – it can lead to low esteem and self- abuse. This book shows the struggles of self-abuse, sexual assault, along with true love, rejection and good and bad friendships. Christina learned to have faith in God. Scriptures from the bible help Christina work through her nightmares, and conflicts. Set in the 1980’s, Christina’s journey takes a reader back in time. Movies and songs bring back memories that are reminiscent of days gone by. I am looking forward to the next book to see what happens. I highly recommend that adults and teens read this book.
A very touching and heartwarming story of a young girls struggles of love, friendship, a secret, family and faith. Once you start reading it, you will feel as if you are right there watching, hearing and living it with her. A book that will hold your interest from start to finish. Thank you Maria T. Henriksen for giving me a chance to review such a wonderful book. “NOT AGAIN is by far one of the best books about a teenager that I have ever read.”
This story about young adults (in particular Christina and her friends) is one that tackles very hard subjects. As is posted in other reviews, I will reiterate that there are scenes that have bad language/take the Lord’s Name in vain, and there are scenes dealing with sexuality. HOWEVER, while normally this would make me put down the book, this book is one that deals with the messiness of life before there is transformation through Jesus Christ. We have to remember that our lives are not clean and tidy and neither are those of the characters in this book. Transformation is the key and makes this book SO worth it to read. Please give it a read. If you are sharing with a teen in your life, please be sure to read it first and talk to them about it so they can be guided in the way the Lord wants them to go. I LOVED how Scripture was weaved into the story in a very authentic and realistic way. It was an excellent story, and one that can help so many!
This is the first book I have read by Maria Henriksen. This deals with young teenagers coming of age and dealing with issues of dating and growing up. This is a powerful book of a teen not believing in God, being raped, dating, and eventually finding God and working thru the issues of the rape. I loved the characters and felt sorry for everything that Christina went thru. I think teenagers should read this so they know they aren’t the only ones dealing with these issues. This was very good.
Wow, wow, wow. This book is powerful. A young teen goes from not believing in God, getting raped, cutting, to finding love, finding God, praying, mediating on the Word and being true to herself.
I loved it. I takes me back to when I was young and not really taking the Lords love seriously and then the more I grew, I started to fully understand the Word and praying for myself and for others.
Thank you for this book!
Such a great book from a new author! I look forward to reading more of her books.
I liked that this story is set in the 1980s as I was a teen and young adult then. I love the references to the 80s.
Parts of this were difficult for me to read as I, too, am a survivor of sexual assault and rape as a child. Overall, it’s a great story and Maria does the subject justice.
So I won this in a giveaway. I was excited because it seemed right up my alley. I don’t even know how to describe it without giving away things. Ended up it wasn’t for me. Usually when I can’t get into a book I give it about 50-60 pages. I have given this one over 100 because I wanted to like it and give a glowing review. I’ll just say it didn’t end up being something I was into but others may enjoy it. For me it was unfortunately It actually makes me sad because it’s rare for me to not enjoy a book on some level.
Not Again by Marie T. Henriksen
This story is set in the 1980’s. If you were a teenager in this era, you will love all the references to 80’s music and movies. I actually started humming the songs while reading! It really set the mood! But in addition, it is a story of teenage angst and all that it entails. The awkward stages of adolescence, the peer pressure to fit in, get good grades, excel at sports and first love and the first kiss. But what if the most precious thing is stolen from you? And you can’t tell a soul about it? How can or do you recover? And at what cost?
Journey with Christina as she navigates the sea of adolescent angst. Discovers love and loss. Endings and new beginnings. “I can choose my destiny.” And ultimately, finds a relationship with God.
This book will remind you of the love of God and the ability we all have to focus upward not inward.
Not Again By Maria T. Henriksen A review by Lori Chasko
Not Again was a gripping thought-provoking novel that pulled you in from beginning to end. It’s yes filled with tough times and situations but also written with a lot of heart. It’s a very real true to life novel that touches on troubles that teenagers face daily. Not Again provides a voice for them with understanding.
Not Again is one of those books you can’t put down. It’s very intense and realistic. It’s writing is one of the most original that I’ve seen being a hybrid in genre. It gives hope where there doesn’t appear to be any and lifts you up and blesses you page by page.
Not Again is one of the best books I’ve read this summer. If you’d like to find out what happens I highly recommend that you read it. Not Again is a novel that can change your life. I give Not Again 5
This is a very cute and touching story of a young girl who has to face many things in her life. From what seems to be a mother who is not really there for her emotionally to being assaulted by a neighbor boy who was just plain evil. Falling in love at what seems to be to be a very young age and going through all the ups and downs that go with that. Being 13 is a very hard age but when I was that age I was not at all into dating or boys yet. I of course noticed a cute boy but would never have thought about going with one. While to me Christina was just to young to be dating as was her first love Avery, they did seem to have a good relationship. Young love is hard enough when you are 16 but to be 13 and thinking you are in deep love is tough. You should be enjoying be a child not worrying about kissing and making out. That being said this book was a good one. The story was cute and endearing but also hard to read in places. I’ve been there where Christina was when she got hurt so badly. You don’t get over it. It stays with you forever. You learn to move on and have a life though.
This book made me laugh out loud in places. Like when Christina calls her boyfriend, who is only 14, a man. LOL He’s a child as she is but they do feel deeply for each other at the time. Love is hard but it’s also beautiful and when you meet the right person it seems like things do fall into place as they should be. Christina and her friends are all looking for something in life. Between the Christian parts in this book and the young people going to parties and doing a bit of drinking, they form deep friendships. Deep rivalries too. Kids can be mean and cruel at times and then they can be your best friends. The ones you confide in. Tell your deepest secrets too. Or most of the secrets anyway.
Christina, Avery and Joey are all friends who love each other in many ways. Christina is in love with Avery and he is in love with her. Joey is also in love with Christina but knows that she will love Avery for a long long time, possibly forever, so he steps down. He will find that special someone in his life eventually I’m sure.
This book is a Christian book and filled with very likable characters. Some will get under your skin while others will make you smile. It’s just a very good book but for a young age group than me. While it’s also one that you will enjoy too at any age. I loved how the author wrote things that happened in the early 80s true to the time period. The songs that they kids listened to or skated to. The way they depended on each other for moral support at times and were always there for each other when someone hurt or tried to hurt one of them. True friends are here no matter what.
I gave this book 4 stars and that is because I enjoyed the book immensely, but I also found it hard to imagine kids so young being so into dating. Of course when I was in school at that age it seems half the girls there were expecting babies so what do I know. I thought it was contagious. I swear I did. I was not at all smart about those things. So apparently young kids fall in love and have sex even back in the 70s when I thought drinking after them might cause it.
Thank you very much Maria T. Henriksen for this book. I throughly enjoyed it and I do recommend it to my book loving friends.
This book is not your standard Christian young adult book. It possibly should come with a trigger warning, as the story does include the struggles from a traumatic event in a young girls life, innocence taken away, and self harm as one way she chose to cope with the trauma. Many parts of the main characters story get pretty intense, and while not the standard, happy Christian love story, this book does share a more realistic view of the struggles of a young lady, healing from trauma, and trying to find comfort, strength, and love through her faith. This would also be a good book to read together as a family, to help open a door of communication between parents and their children on some realistic struggles that could be faced while growing up. The main teenage character, Christina, finds out how even through the roughest and darkest moments comes light and hope. Not Again can help a young adult see that they are not alone, and learn how to find their strength within to keep moving forward and heal. Tissues during reading recommended.
This is an excellent YA book about a young lady coming of age in the 80s. She goes through a traumatic event. She comes to know Christ during her teen years. It is graphic. I would recommend this to young ladies in my family .
An inspirational, spiritual, and tells it like it is!
This was a great YA Christian book read! It shows a realistic vantage point from the main teenager girl’s character,Christina DeRoasa’s point of view! There are relatable teenage issues involving Avery Evans, her friends, peers & a very tragic moment as well!
I found this story just as relatable today, as it was back in the 80’s, which is the setting in this book.
The best part of the story is how a young teenager who once knew God, or thought she did, pulled away from him, but finds her way back through the rough and darkest moments of her life! Christina finds out, along with others & a special relationship with Miss Brenda, that through the love of God, & love of others that there is light and hope!
This is a story of coming of age & shows teenagers signs of adolescence, peer pressure, bullying & survival! But not survival because they made it through, but survival because they learned more about God & how to respect themselves, their bodies, and others. They learn about forgiveness that only God can bring us & love that God can teach us to triumph anything!
Looking forward to a sequel to see where life & God has taken them.
Author, Maria Henriksen’s book, ‘Not Again’ is a must read!
Christina has been keeping a secret for years. She survived a sexual assault that destroys her trust and self worth. She lives with the horrible secret daily, yet puts on the face of “everything’s fine.” Her feelings of self worth affect her spiritually as well. Why do bad things happen to people? Only God reveals those answers.
She runs into Avery Evans, a past flame she still has feelings for. He gives her the feeling of safety, she has been yearning for so long. Christina doesn’t want to lose him and has an important decision to make. How will it affect the life she has always wanted?
Does she tell Avery about her assault and risk losing him or suffer her nightmares in quiet.
This was a very emotional and personal story for me. I believe everyone should read this book-if not for themselves than to better understand what trauma and nightmares-assault victims have to carry with them.
With Gods Grace life gets easier but never forgotten!